Ski binding

ABSTRACT

A ski binding heel unit having a housing and a release lever pivotable relative to a ski base plate and each other. The release lever has an upwardly directed portion with a forwardly extending nose thereon engageable with a pair of faces on the housing. An adjustable compression spring between a rear housing wall and the upwardly directed portion urges the nose of the release lever into engagement with one of two abutment faces on the housing. A rearwardly extending portion is positioned beneath an opening in the housing for actuation of the ski binding.

United States Patent 1191 App]. No.: 272,447

Foreign Application Priority Data Benner June 28, 1974 1 1 SKI BINDING3,554,571 1/1971 Smolka 280/1 1.35 T 1 3,575,438 4/1971 Unger 1. 280/11135 T [76] Inventor: Wlllfgang Benn", 3,580,597 5/1971 Beyl 280/1 1.35T

Landsiedlerstrasse, 71 84 Klrchberg/Jagsti Germany PrimaryExaminer-Robert R. Song [22] Filed: July 17, 1972 Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Bacon & Thomas tion with a forwardly extending nose thereonengageable with a pair of faces on the housing. An adjustablecompression spring between a rear housing wall and i the upwardlydirected portion urges the nose of the release-lever into engagementwith one of two abutment faces on the housing. A rearwardly extendingportion-is positioned beneath an opening in the hous ing for actuationof the ski binding;

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 7 SKI BINDING BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention.

The invention relates to ski bindings, and more particularly to springloaded, quickly releasable ski bindings in which the heel unit is lockedby stepping onto the ski and is released through the actuation of aspring feature a heavy steel construction with precision ma-v chinedparts and complex and expensive adjustment mechanisms. These mechanismsalso include spring loaded latch elements which are actuated by the bootas the skier steps onto the ski. The latch element is releasable byeither the deliberate operation of a release element or under apredetermined stress onthe heel of theski boot, as in safetybindings.

' SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the invention toprovide a ski binding of the earlier mentioned type which is inexpensiveand preferably manufactured of molded plastic elements, and which offersthe same advantages as the known ski bindings. This is particularly truein regard to the convenient locking and release of the ski boot whileproviding a firm, safe connection between the boot and the ski. Afurther object is to provide easy adaptability of the ski binding as asafety ski binding for use on both junior skis and full-size skis.

The invention proposes to attain the above objects by using a skibinding where a pivotable, spring loaded latch is arranged inside alikewise pivotable housing of the heel unit. A horizontal nose on thevertical latch engages one of two saw-tooth abutments on the housing. Ahorizontal compression spring urges the latch against the abutments insuch a way that theheel unit is locked in place as the housing ispivoted into the horizontal position. Release of the housing is obtainedby depressing an offset lever portion of the latch against the springpressure. It may also be obtained automatically at a predeterminedopening pressure generated by the boots when the engaging parts betweenthe latch and the housing have been positioned to operate as a safetyrelease. The lever portion of the latch is preferably accessible fromabove through an opening in the housing so as to be operable by means offinger pressure or with a ski pole.

The solution provided by theinvention features a minimum of structuralelements, most of which are preferably of plastic material and injectionmolded. The heel unit of the invention also features a singlecompression spring which performs a double function in that it providesthe preload for the latch and also I produces the opening movement forthe housing when the latch is released. This double action spring isalso conveniently adjustable from the outside to obtain differentlocking and release characteristics. I

' One version of the invention provides alocking action between thelatch and the housing which can only be released by a deliberate releasemovement on the latch lever. In a second version the locking elementsare positioned to operate as an automatic release mechanism to serve asa safety binding which releases the ski boot-under a predeterminedoverload. In order to obtain this characteristic, the invention utilizeslocking elements in which the abutment faces on the housing and/or thelocking nose on the latch are rounded or arranged obliquely so as toprovide a cam engagement, Y

the locking action of which is a direct function of the spring loadapplied to the latch. It is also possible to replace one of the twolocking faces by a roller which is carried by a horizontal pin; Itisfurtherpossible to provide the locking element on the housing as aseparate structural part so that the housing is always the sameinjection molded part, regardless of the type of locking action providedby the locking elements. Such a special interchangeable locking elementmay be attached to the housing wall by either screws, pins, or bonding.Thus, the modification from one locking characteristic to anotherlocking characteristic merely requires the replacement ofinterchangeablelocking plates on the housing and locking latchesthemselves. All other parts remain unchanged. A

Ina particularly simple embodiment of the invention the horizontalcompression spring is so arranged that its rear end engages an integralprotrusion on the rear wall of the housing and its forward end engages acentering recess on the vertical leg of the latch lever. However, inorder to further simplify assembly of the unit and to provideadjustability of the locking and release actions, especially for thesafety type binding, it is further proposed that the protrusion on therear housing wall be replaced by an adjustable threaded pin whichengages a threaded bore in the housing wall and which is long enough toprovide any required adjustment.

A further preferred feature of the invention provides for a longitudinaladjustment of the heel unit relative to the toe unit of the ski. This isobtained by means of longitudinal lateral protrusions on the base plateof the housing. The housing is then adjustably clamped onto the ski bymeans of two clamping profiles which engage matching teeth on thehousing protrusions. Adjustment is obtained by loosening the screwswhich retain the clamping profiles, whereby the latter can be lifted torelease the toothed housing ledges permitting the heel unit to beadjusted toward or away from the toe unit. Retightening of the clampingscrews gives the heel unit a firm longitudinal and vertical hold.

A further provision of the invention relates to the initial mounting ofthe heel unit on the ski which can be simplified by providing the twoinjection molded clamping profiles with exterior, transverse connectingyokes so that the two profiles form a one-piece molding. In this manner,the two profiles can be conveniently screwed onto the ski in the properalignment and with the correct lateral distance, whereupon theconnecting yokes are broken away from the clamping profiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objects and advantages of theinvention will become apparent from the description following below,

when taken together with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, byway of example, a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a toe unit as part of a ski bindingembodied by the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the toe unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a heel unit as part of a ski binding embodimentby the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the heel unit;

FIG. 5 is an elevational cross sectional view of the heel unit of FIGS.3 and 4 taken along line AA of 7 FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a pre-assembly molding of the clamping profilesfor the heel unit of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-13 of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As can be seen in FIGS.1 and 2, a toe unit 1 includes a hollow main body produced of injectionmolded plastic which has a central cavity 2 for weight saving and a pairof opposite lateral lugs 3 with bores 3' for screws attaching it to theski. The toe unit further includes a recess 4 on its rear side which istraversed by a vertical threaded adjustment pin 5. The adjustment pinengages in a known manner a wing-shaped boot retaining cup 6 which canbe adjusted vertically by rotating the pin and which is secured againstrotation by its lateral engagement with the recess 4 inside the body 1.This toe unit is permanently mounted on the ski, adaptability todifferent boot sizes being provided by adjustments on the heel unit.

The heel unit as shown in FIGS. 3-5 includes a main housing 8 whichcontains in its forward portion the same boot retaining elements as inthe toe unit, viz. a wing-shaped cup 9 engaging a lateral recess 10 anda threaded adjustment pin 11 for vertical adjustment to the thickness ofthe heel rim of the boot. Underneath the cup 9 a housing 12 includes aforwardly extending trip plate 13 which extends under the heel of theboot so that, when the skier steps into the ski binding, the housing ispivoted downwardly from its open position into its horizontal lockingposition. The housing 12 pivots around a horizontal pivoting pin 14which is located near the lower rear end of the housing. Pin 14 ismounted on a bottom plate 15 which includes a pair of laterally spacedears 16 holding pin 14. The bottom plate 15 further includes a secondpair of ears 17 located forward of the ears 16 and holding a secondpivoting pin 18 on which is pivotably mounted a latch 19. The latterconsists of an upwardly extending portion in the form of a generallyvertically arranged leg 20 which extends upwardly from pin 18 and anactuating arm 20 which extends rearwardly from the upper end of leg 20so as to be accessible through an opening 20" in the upper wall ofhousing 12. The latch leg 20 further includes on its upper end aforwardly extending nose 21 which engages a latch element 22 on thehousing 12. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the latch element is in the formof a latch plate 22 which is mounted on a forward transverse wall 29 ofhousing 12.

A biasing means in the form of a horizontally extending compressionspring 23 urges the latch 19 into engagement with the latch plate 22 ofhousing 12. On its forward end, spring 23 engages a centering recess 23'in the vertical leg 20 of latch 19, thereby tending to pivot latch 19 ina counterclockwise direction. The rear end of spring 23 engages the rearwall of housing 12 from the inside via a centering pin 24 which mayeither be an integral part of the molded housing 12 or take the form ofa threaded centering pin 25 (FIG. 5) which is adjustably mounted in athreaded bore in the rear wall of the housing. For a very largeadjustment range on the compression spring, it is of course possible touse a threaded pin which is much longer than that shown in FIG. 5,especially when it is desired to adapt this ski binding as a safety skibinding.

In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 5, the latch element forms a plate22 which has two abutment faces 26 and 27 located a distance above oneanother and linked by a cam shaped cam portion 28 so as to give thelatch plate a saw-tooth shaped outline. In the normal locked positionnose 21 of the latch 19 presses against the upper abutment face 26 ofthe latch plate, and this locked position is maintained by compressionspring 23. The heel unit 8 is only then openable, i.e., pivotableupwardly, when latch 19 is forceably moved against the force of spring23 by depressing the actuating arm 20 either with a finger or with theend of a ski pole. This causes latch 19 to move clockwise against spring23, thereby releasing the nose 21 from theabutment face 26. As thecompression spring 23 rests against the pivotable housing at a distanceabout its pivot pin 14, the spring 23 at all times exerts an upwardlydirecting pivoting movement on the housing. Thus, the release movementof latch 19 allows the housing 12 to pivot upwardly into the openposition under the action of spring 23. This open position is determinedby the nose 21 which catches the lower abutment face 27 of the latchplate. The housing is returned into its lower locked position by theaction of the ski boot entering the binding and engaging trip plate 13,thereby causing the latch nose 21 to glide over cam 28 of the latchplate 22 until, in the lower end position, latch 19 snaps over the upperabutment face 26 to lock housing 12 of the heel unit'in position.

It is also possible to provide the latch element 22 as an integral partof the housing 12. The preferred embodiment, however, provides aseparate latch plate 22 (as shown in FIG. 5) which may be attached tothe housing by screws, rivets, or by bonding. This has an advantage inthat the heel unit can easily and inexpensively be provided with theelements of a safety binding, when the latch plate 22 as shown isreplaced by a different latch plate which, instead of having the sawtooth outline has rounded abutment portions or a different angle on itsabutment faces, depending on the friction coefficient of the materialsused. In this case it is also suggested to use a modified latch lever 19the nose 21 of which either includes a roller on a horizontal pin or hasan appropriately rounded or slanted outline. With a heel unit modifiedin the above manner it is possible for the latch to be opened by the skiboot, which when it exerts an upward pressure against cup 9 of the unit,causes the latch plate 22 to be snapped from under the nose (or roller)21 of latch 19 by moving the latter against spring 23. The amount offorce required to affect such a release can be adjusted by adjusting thepreload condition on the compression spring 23. This adjustment isobtained on the threaded pin 25 which may include a dial or othervisible reading marks on the housing 12 so as to allow a convenientsetting of the critical release conditions. The earlier describedsnaplatch unit (shown in FIG. 5) can thus be quickly and expensivelytransformed into a safety binding by modifying three simple parts, viz.latch plate 22, latch lever 19, and a longer adjustment pin 25.

As can be-seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base plate of the heel unit islaterally larger than the housing 12 itself. These lateral longitudinalprotrusions on base plate 15 are engaged by matching longitudinalclamping profiles on either side of the housing which overlap theprotrusions and thus press the base plate 15 against the ski. The matingfaces of the base plate protrusions and of the clamping profiles furtherinclude matching transverse serrations to possibly prevent anylongitudinal displacement of the heel unit relative to the clampingprofiles 30. The teeth of the transverse serrations are approximately 1mm deep. The two clamping profiles 30 are attached to the ski by meansof several screws 31 (FIG. 4). Both the base plate 15 and the twoclamping profiles 30 with their serrations are injection molded fromplastic material.

An additional advantageous feature of the invention resides in the factthat the two clamping profiles 30 are injection molded as a singleone-piece unit as shown in FIG. 6. This is done by adding to the ends ofthe two profiles connecting yokes 32 which hold the two profiles inproper alignment and in correct lateral spacing. This frame-like moldingwhich can be slipped over the heel unit greatly simplifies the initialmounting of the unit on the ski by preventing any misalignment duringthe drilling of the holes for the screws 31. Once mounted, theconnecting yokes 32 are simply broken off. This is simplified byproviding weakening notches 32' between the ends of the clampingprofiles 30 and arms 33 of the connecting yokes 32.

While one embodiment of the invention has been described, it will beunderstood that it is capable of manyfurther modifications and thisapplication is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptions ofthe invention following in general, the principles of the invention andincluding such departures from the present disclosure as come withinknowledge or customary practice in the art to which the inventionpertains, and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbeforeset forth and fall within the scope of the invention or the limits ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A ski binding heel unit comprising:

a. a base plate adapted to be secured to the ski,

b. upwardly extending front ear means and rear ear means on said baseplate,

c. a housing pivotally connected to said rear ear means,

d. boot heel engaging means on said housing,

e. said housing being pivotally movable on said rear ear means formovement between an open, step-in position and a closed, retainingposition,

f. said housing having a latch member thereon, said latch memberincluding a pair of abutment faces thereon,

g. a release lever pivotally connected to said front ear means andincluding a rearwardly extending lever arm and a forwardly extendingnose, said nose being engagable with said abutment faces, and

h. spring means positioned between said housing and said release leverfor biasing said release lever into contact with said abutment faces andbiasing said housing toward its open position.

2. A ski binding heel unit as'defined in claim 1 wherein said housinghas an opening therein adjacent said rearwardly extending lever arm.

3. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said twoabutment faces'include a cam between them forming a saw tooth outlinewhich engages said nose in the manner of a cam when the heel unit islowered into its operating position.

4. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein an upper faceof said abutment faces and said nose have a rounded configuration so asto form an overload release or safety release which is adjustablethrough adjustment of the preload of the biasing means.

5. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein an upper faceof said abutment faces and said nose have a slanted configuration so asto form an overload release or safety release which is adjustablethrough adjustment of the preload of the biasing means.

6. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said nose is inthe form of a roller which rotates around a horizontal axis.

7. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 8. A ski binding heelunit .as defined in claim 1 wherein said biasing means is in the form ofa compression spring and rests with one end against a pin shapedprotrusion on the rear wall of the housing and with its other endagainst said release lever and being centered in a centering recess insaid upwardly extending portion.

9. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 8 wherein said centeringpin is part of a threaded adjustment screw which engages a threaded borein the rear wall of the housing.

10. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said housingand said release lever are pivotable about a pair of pivoting pins, saidpivot pins being retained in spaced upwardly extending ears.

11. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said baseplate includes a lateral protrusion on each side, the heel unit furtherincluding two clamping profiles which engage the lateral protrusionsfrom above, thereby adjustably clamping the heel unit onto the ski,matching faces of the lateral protrusions and of the clamping profilesincluding matching transverse serrations.

12. A ski binding heel as defined in claim 11 wherein said two clampingprofiles are a one-piece plastic molding prior to initial assembly, theends of the profiles being linked by connecting yokes with weakeningnotches at the connecting points, so that the connect ing yokes can bebroken off following assembly of the heel unit to the ski.

13. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said housingincludes on its forward side a trip plate which extends beyond said baseplate so as to reach under the heel of the ski boot, the heel unitfurther including an adjustable heel retaining cup engaging the rim ofthe heel from above and a threaded adjustment pin for the verticaladjustment of said retaining cup.

14. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said housing,release lever, base plate, heel retaining cup, and serrated clampingprofiles of the heel unit, as well as the entire toe unit aremanufactured of plastic material.

1. A ski binding heel unit comprising: a. a base plate adapted to besecured to the ski, b. upwardly extending front ear means and rear earmeans on said base plate, c. a housing pivotally connected to said rearear means, d. boot heel engaging means on said housing, e. said housingbeing pivotally movable on said rear ear means for movement between anopen, step-in position and a closed, retaining position, f. said housinghaving a latch member thereon, said latch member including a pair ofabutment faces thereon, g. a release lever pivotally connected to saidfront ear means and including a rearwardly extending lever arm and aforwardly extending nose, said nose being engagable with said abutmentfaces, and h. spring means positioned between said housing and saidrelease lever for biasing said release lever into contact with saidabutment faces and biasing said housing toward its open position.
 2. Aski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing has anopening therein adjacent said rearwardly extending lever arm.
 3. A skibinding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said two abutment facesinclude a cam between them forming a saw tooth outline which engagessaid nose in the manner of a cam when the heel unit is lowered into itsoperating position.
 4. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1wherein an upper face of said abutment faces and said nose have arounded configuration so as to form an overload release or safetyrelease which is adjustable through adjustment of the preload of thebiasing means.
 5. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 whereinan upper face of said abutment faces and said nose have a slantedconfiguration so as to form an overload release or safety release whichis adjustable through adjustment of the preload of the biasing means. 6.A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said nose is inthe form of a roller which rotates around a horizontal axis.
 7. A skibinding heel unit as defined in claim 1 wherein said abutment faces formpart of a plate which is attached to the rear side of a transversehousing wall.
 8. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid biasing means is in the form of a compression spring and rests withone end against a pin shaped protrusion on the rear wall of the housingand with its other end against said release lever and being centered ina centering recess in said upwardly extending portion.
 9. A ski bindingheel unit as defined in claim 8 wherein said centering pin is part of athreaded adjustment screw which engages a threaded bore in the rear wallof the housing.
 10. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1wherein said housing and said release lever are pivotable about a pairof pivoting pins, said pivot pins being retained in spaced upwardlyextending ears.
 11. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 1wherein said base plate includes a lateral protrusion on each side, theheel unit further including two clamping profiles which engage thelateral protrusions from above, thereby adjustably clamping the heelunit onto the ski, matching faces of the lateral protrusions and of theclamping profiles including matching transverse serrations.
 12. A skibinding heel as defined in claim 11 wherein said two clamping profilesare a one-piece plastic molding prior to initial assembly, the ends ofthe profiles being linked by connecting yokes with weakening notches atthe connecting points, so that the connecting yokes can be broken offfollowing assembly of the heel unit to the ski.
 13. A ski binding heelunit as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing includes on its forwardside a trip plate which extends beyond said base plate so as to reachunder the heel of the ski boot, the heel unit further including anadjustable heel retaining cup engaging the rim of the heel from aboveand a threaded adjustment pin for the vertical adjustment of saidretaining cup.
 14. A ski binding heel unit as defined in claim 13wherein said housing, release lever, base plate, heel retaining cup, andserrated clamping profiles of the heel unit, as well as the entire toeunit are manufactured of plastic material.